58 



APES AXD MONKEYS. 



upright forehead, the whole skull strikes one as approaching the human tj-pc far 

 more nearly than do those of the other apes. This must not, however, be con- 

 sidered as an indication that the gibbons are of a higher tj^pe than the other 

 Man-like Apes, since the contrary is clearly demonstrated by their long arms and 



THE WHITE-HAKDED GIBBON'. 



the callosities ou the buttocks. The resemblance of their skulls to the human 

 t\^e is, indeed, merely a superficial one, due to the circum.staiice that small animals 

 must necessarily ha\e proporiionately larger brains than the laiger meml)ei-s of 

 the same group : and also to the absence of the sti-oug ridges which are necessary 

 for the powerful skulls of the larger forms, but woidd be quite useless in their 

 smaller cousins. The supei-ficial human-like charactei-s of the skulls of the gibbons 

 are, however, to a gi-eat extent destroj'ed by their long slender tusks, or canine 



